A Discussion of Names
by The Seattle Dallas Experience
Summary: A name is supposed to help people remember each other, not confuse them to no end. During her seventh year, Lily makes it a point to figure out the meanings of the Marauders' nicknames. JamesLily.
1. In Which Characters Are Introduced

**A Discussion of Names**

Hello, people. This is our first time collaborating on fanfiction, so, please, keep it clean!

Well, not necessarily clean, but don't hate. Although I guess any and all reviews are appreciated. (_This__ is just the drugs talking, nice reviews only, he's not in his right head -Jameson_) (Hey, I didn't say you could edit it! And I don't do drugs!)

Anyway, enjoy and review! (Oh, yeah, before I forget, this is Anton, by the way)

**Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter and all its characters. This does not belong to us. Thank you.**

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He should never have kept the badge.

James Potter was sitting in a compartment on a train with his three best friends.

They sped through the beautiful countryside of Scotland, but James was not admiring the beauty of the landscape as he gazed out the window.

He was deep in thought. He had not expected it at all; it had happened so suddenly. The letters had come, and his sharp eyes had noticed that Remus' envelope was heavier than the rest, weighed down by what they had all known to be a badge. James had assumed that it would be the Head Boy badge, instead of the Prefect one that had arrived for the past two years. He was surprised to see Remus pull out a Prefect badge; little did he know what would happen next.

He had seen the owl coming. He had seen the small bulge in the envelope. He had seen the package drop, and he had caught it. But as his mind had been trying so desperately to comprehend what had just happened and connect the dots, Sirius' quick hands had nicked the envelope, tore it open, and found the badge.

Of course, after recovering from the shock stimulated by the idea of he, himself, James Potter, becoming Head Boy of Hogwarts, the first thought to cross his mind was to give the badge to Remus. He was sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind a little swap; the old loon _had_ apparently chosen James over Remus as Head Boy...

But, upon Remus' adamant refusal to exchange, he came up with another idea. He'd try to write back to Dumbledore and return the badge, resign from the position.

However, after voicing this opinion to his friends, he was met with not just one, but three disagreements. All of them thought he should keep the position. He thought otherwise.

But then they threatened to attack him, and he knew that there was no way he'd win a three-on-one fight against his best friends.

His best friends, his brothers...how he loved them so.

Never mellow, they were energized at the least. Even now, they were sending things flying about the compartment, being as noisy and rowdy as usual.

James winced as a textbook hit him in the head, upsetting his glasses.

Rearranging his spectacles, he turned to look at his friends.

Sirius and Peter were locked in an epic battle, levitating their textbooks and sending them flying at each other. Remus was casually sitting in a corner, reading.

As Sirius' fifth year History of Magic textbook came rushing at Peter's second year Charms textbook, James saw what would happen before it did.

Sirius' huge textbook came in at such an angle and velocity that it would inevitably crash into Peter's tiny one, and the momentum would carry both books right into the side of Remus' head, knocking him out for sure.

Just as James was able to realize this, the projectiles collided.

They both went flying at the oblivious boy, going straight for his head. James cried out, tried to warn him, "Remus!" but it was much too late. By the time he even looked up, the books would have already knocked him unconscious. James watched in horror as the books flew right at his friend, getting closer and closer: they were a foot away, half a foot, a quarter of a foot, two inches from his temple-

The books hit a dead stop and fell to the floor.

James gaped.

Remus looked up. Upon seeing James' bewildered expression, he smiled.

"How stupid do you think I am, Prongs?" he asked. "I know better than to read unprotected around these crazy people we call friends."

James laughed. "Too true, Moony, too true."

"Hey!" said Sirius. "We're not crazy! Just...rather different."

"In a good way," added Peter.

"Sure you are," replied Remus evenly. "And I'd love to discuss how 'different' you people are, but James and I have business to do."

James started. "We do?"

"Of course," returned Remus. "The Prefects' Meeting, remember, Mister Head Boy?"

He'd forgotten all about it. "Oh...right...the meeting. Well, erm...we'd better get going, I suppose."

"Too right you are," agreed Sirius. "Get out of my sight, Head Boy Prongs. Your position of authority sickens me."

"What about Moony?" asked Peter. "He's been a Prefect for years."

"Well, yes, but...Head Boy is higher, so Prongs trumps Moony, so Prongs sickens me more."

"But isn't it good to have a man on the inside?" continued Peter, confused.

"Yes, but...it's a troublemaker's code to hate authority," finished Sirius triumphantly.

"Padfoot, you jest, but Wormtail is right," said James. "Moony and I are both in positions of authority, but we're still your friends. It's actually a good thing."

"Are we leaving or not?" Remus asked exasperatedly.

"Right, I'm coming!" said James.

He followed Remus out the door as Sirius rose to shut it behind them.

:

Remus Lupin was no ordinary wizard.

He was a strange mix of things, bookworm and troublemaker, Prefect and Marauder, a half-blood, and a werewolf.

Growing up, he had become accustomed to the bad treatment werewolves received because of what they were. He even admitted that he _was_ a monster; he accepted that he somehow deserved this treatment. From the time he made this decision as a child, he threw himself into his studies, hoping to excel in order to somehow make up for his difference. He had expected to continue to do this during his Hogwarts years, opting for the reserved, studious life as opposed to the outgoing, social life he could have had had he not been bitten.

However, upon arriving at Hogwarts, Remus Lupin was shocked out of his wits. For, for the first time in his life, he had friends. Good friends, great friends, friends who taught him to have fun again, friends who showed him excitement and life, friends who knew what he was and, instead of thinking less of him, thought greater of him.

His friends were the greatest thing he'd ever had.

His three great friends, who helped him every month, who gave him happiness, who made him feel equal, who had made his life wonderful.

Well, no, that wasn't right. They didn't make his life wonderful.

His friends _were_ his life.

"Moony! Moony!"

Startled out of his reverie, Remus turned to see James walking towards him.

"Moony! Stop! Don't you leave me here, I don't know where we're supposed to go."

"Alright, Prongs, relax," Remus said as he turned to continue walking. James fell in step next to him.

They walked in a casual silence for a couple of minutes before Remus stopped in front of a door.

"Here we are," he said, as he pulled it open. Walking inside, he saw a few Prefects already in their seats, as well as the Head Girl, Lily Evans, in a different section of the compartment, going over some notes.

Behind him, he heard James pull the door shut, and, a second later, a small sigh.

:

James Potter was staring at his new partner, the Head Girl.

The Head Girl, who happened to be none other than Lily Evans.

Lily Evans, who happened to be none other than the love of his life.

He sighed again, and Remus nudged him.

Making eye contact with his friend, James saw him make a significant nod toward Lily. When he did not move, he felt Remus shove him in her direction.

Slowly, as if in a dream, he approached the girl whom he loved, the girl who would not give him a chance, the girl who he would be working with all year.

He sighed once more at this thought, but this time it was more like a groan.

The redheaded Head Girl looked up at the noise. Upon seeing his face, hers contorted in disgust and confusion, and it soon reconfigured into an expression of rage.

"Potter," she said venomously, "what are you doing here? I don't want any of your pranks or date proposals right now. I have business to do. _Some_ people are trusted enough by the Headmaster to be given positions of authority." She thrust out her chest, giving him a clear view of her badge.

"Yes, Lily, about that-" James began, but was cut off.

"I don't _care_ what you have to say about the position of Head Girl. _I_ think that it is quite an achievement. In fact, I think being chosen to be a Prefect is quite an achievement. Becoming one of the _Head Students_, on the other hand, is obviously the highest honor any young witch or wizard can receive."

"You're sounding a bit like McGonagall here, Lily, but, anyway, my point is that-"

"Shut up, Potter! Why won't you just leave me alone? We're not even at Hogwarts yet, and you're already in front of me, harassing me, probably wanting a date, breaking rules by being in a compartment you shouldn't be in-"

"But I'm supposed to be here!" James finally cried, exasperated.

"What?" Lily asked, completely taken aback.

"Look," he said, pulling out his badge. "I'm Head Boy."

Lily's jaw dropped in surprise. She quickly recovered and her eyes narrowed.

"I can't believe you! Making a fake Head Boy badge to get close to me! You're just so-"

"It's not fake, Lily! This is the real one!"

"Well, then, how about you return it to the _real_ Head Boy?"

Just then, Remus appeared at James' side.

Smiling at the Head Girl, he said, "Hello, Lily."

"Good afternoon, Remus," she smiled as she replied genially. "How are you?"

"Very good, thank you. Anyway, I heard raised voices over here. Is everything alright?"

James opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance.

"No, not really," said Lily. "Do you mind telling Potter to return your badge to you?"

Remus' right hand immediately flew to his chest. Upon finding that his badge was still securely pinned there, he relaxed as James snickered.

"No, I've got my badge right here," he said, patting his Prefect badge.

Lily stared for a moment. "You mean...you're not Head Boy?"

Remus shook his head.

"What is Dumbledore thinking?" Lily muttered under her breath.

"I've no idea," rejoined James.

Lily ignored him. "Well, can you convince your crazy friend here to return the Head Boy badge to the _real_ Head Boy?"

Remus casually looked around the room. "I don't see Sirius or Peter anywhere. What are you talking about?"

Lily exhaled through her nose frustratedly. "No, I meant Potter! He's taken the Head Boy's badge!"

"Who, James here?" Lily nodded furiously as James smiled and gave Remus a little wave. "He hasn't taken it from anyone. He's Head Boy."

Lily stared. "Come again?"

"I said he's Head Boy."

"Who's Head Boy?"

"James."

"James? James who?" Lily asked stupidly, not willing to believe it.

"James Potter, that's who."

"No way."

"C'mon, Lily! I'm responsible! I can be a good Head Boy!" James protested.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes! Look, I even prepared notes for this meeting," James replied, pulling them out.

Lily snatched them up and briefly scanned them. She grudgingly handed them back and said, "Fine."

"What?"

"I said, fine. I accept it. You're Head Boy."

"Thank Merlin," James smiled, relieved. "I was afraid you would never-"

"Just a minute, Potter," Lily interrupted. "This does not change anything between you and I. Just because I've accepted that you're Head Boy doesn't mean we're suddenly going to become friends or start going out."

"Understood," James nodded.

"I'm not done. You may think that this is all just fun and games, but I take this position very seriously. If you screw up, or do something that may cause me to lose this badge," she pointed at her chest, "then you can be very sure that you will suffer. Do I make myself clear?"

James nodded. "As a crystal ball."

Remus jumped back into the conversation.

"Wait, James, crystal balls aren't clear at all!"

"Oh...right, sorry. I mean, yes. Very clear."

"Good." Lily turned back to her notes, satisfied.

"Although there is one thing I don't like."

Lily breathed in and out very slowly, then turned to face him again.

"What?"

"Well, you said that nothing will change between us. But if we want to work together, for the sake of the school, of course, we need to be friendly. Or at least peaceful. So I think we should agree to not fight anymore."

Lily thought about that proposition for a few seconds. Reluctantly, she agreed. "Okay."

James smiled. "Thank you. Now, shall we call this meeting to order?"

:

Sirius Black was a man of surprising depth. When one looked at his face and his body, he appeared young and carefree. But his eyes showed much more; he was, in fact, a man very wise and experienced for his years.

He was not an unkind person. Though he may have come across to many people as obnoxious and rather blunt, he was in fact only very passionate about what he believed in. His naturally rebellious spirit combined with his hatred of the idea of purity of blood to create a dangerously zealous rage against what he dubbed "pure-blood maniacs," and especially against his own family, whom he considered to be some of the most maniacal pure-blood maniacs alive.

His great value of loyalty had caused him to be Sorted into Gryffindor, instead of Slytherin like the rest of his "pure-blood maniac" family, which, of course, only served to please him. Sirius' fervent devotion to those he cared about, disregard for rules when taking revenge, and unbelievable magical talent protected his close friends from most harm.

After finally getting fed up with his family's pure-blood mania, Sirius decided to run away and live with the Potters. From that moment forth, he had a true family (though he'd always had his brothers at school, this was much better). Intensely loyal to his true family and not his biological one, Sirius confused everyone who did not know him well.

Indeed, Sirius Black was definitely more than meets the eye.

And, at the moment, Sirius Black was definitely bored.

"Y'know, Wormtail, it used to be alright when it was just Remus," he commented lazily. "But now that it's both Remus _and_ James who've got authoritative duties, it's going to get really boring for us."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, "what's the Marauders without two of its four members?"

"You can say that again," replied Sirius. "Say, what _is_ that you're doing?"

For Peter had been acting rather odd and fiddling with something in the corner of the compartment for the past quarter of an hour.

"Oh, this?" he asked. "It's just a project I really got into over the summer. I had a discussion with my Muggle Studies teacher, and we talked about-"

"Peter. I just want to know what it is."

"Okay," he said, looking put out, but held up his project anyway.

He had been whittling some wood.

"Peter...what are you doing?"

"I'm whittling, of course. The Boy Scouts of America learn how to do it. You can make some really neat stuff out of wood. Like I'm making a very pointy wooden spearhead right now, see?"

Sirius took a closer look. The wood was, in fact, very sharp at one end. Actually, it looked rather dangerous.

"Pete, you may want to put away the knife."

"Good idea," he said, and stowed the blade. "But don't you think this is really great?"

"Yeah...sure," replied Sirius, unsure of what to say. He glanced out the window, and his eyes widened in alarm. Turning back to Peter, he said, "Wormtail, you have to put that away."

"What? Why? I thought you liked it," said Peter, looking quite sad.

"Yeah, it's great and all, but we're about to hit that bump in the tracks."

"What bump?" asked Peter, very confused.

"Y'know, the bump we hit every year?"

"No, I have no idea what you're-"

The train hit the bump.

The wood was still being grasped tightly in Peter's hand, but it was right next to his thigh, and, as a result, his whittling project ended up impaled in his leg.

Sirius winced as Peter cried out in surprise and pain.

Quickly removing the piece of wood from Peter's leg, Sirius pulled out his wand and managed to stop the blood flow. However, he could not remember how to properly fix the wound. He swore under his breath.

"C'mon, Pete. We need to go find Prongs and Moony. One of them will know what to do."

Peter groaned. "Sirius, it's probably in a textbook here somewhere, I bet you could find the answer-"

"Relax, Wormtail. It's just a flesh wound. Up you go."

And with that, Sirius levitated Peter right out of the compartment.

:

Lily Evans was not pleased.

For the past six years she had been trying to become Head Girl. She'd been fantasizing about how glorious and honorable it would be, being the top student in the school, being in charge of everyone, save the teachers. And she'd been dreaming about what it would be like working with all the Prefects and the Head Boy. She'd expected the Head Boy to be highly intelligent but witty as well, and preferably not a nerd, but someone she could talk to about sophisticated topics.

Someone like Remus Lupin.

In fact, she'd always had Remus as a bit of an outlet for these such things, but they'd never gotten too close, because Remus, for some reason, felt an intense loyalty towards James Potter, whom she despised.

James Potter. Stupid, Quidditch-playing, pure blood Potter.

She mentally checked herself. What did blood have to do with it? Blood didn't matter at all; she, of all people, should know that...

But, of course, blood did matter. It was what caused her to struggle and attempt to achieve, it was what drove her to study and try to obtain a position of authority. Since she had arrived at Hogwarts, she'd always been treated a little differently just because she was Muggle-born. She felt like she had something to prove to everyone, like she had to prove that Muggle-borns were no worse than everyone else, that she could be just as good, even better, than all the pure bloods in the school.

_Especially_ James Potter.

James Potter. Always ruining everything.

She shot him a sideways glance as she continued to give her little speech. He was sitting there, back straightened, alert, attentive, and even taking notes! Notes! She'd never seen him take notes! In fact, she'd previously been under the impression that he didn't know how to. But there he was, being the perfect Head Boy.

Perfect Head Boy. How was this happening? She'd never expected him to be made Head Boy, and when he had, she'd figured he wouldn't take it seriously at all. But, of course, the universe just loved to prove her wrong, didn't it? He was there, taking notes, he'd given a beautiful speech to the Prefects, he'd obviously prepared and rehearsed it, and it covered everything that they needed to know! It was almost as if he'd stolen her thunder, in a way, by giving such a wonderful speech that what she said barely mattered.

"...and I think that's it. Any questions?" Lily asked, concluding her speech. After scanning the room and waiting for a couple of seconds, she nodded and smiled. "Okay, then, you're all free to go. We should be at Hogwarts in about ten minutes. Have a great year."

There was great noise as all the Prefects vacated the room. She turned to see Potter putting his things into his book bag.

"Well done, Lily," he smiled at her. "I think they understand everything."

"Thank you, Potter," she replied, stiffly and reluctantly, without smiling. She began to pack her things, and noticed Remus approach them out of the corner of her eye.

"Great job, my friends," he greeted them warmly. "Very good, much better than the Head Boy and Girl for the past two years...they had no idea what they wanted to talk about." He rolled his eyes at the memory of their incompetence. "Anyway, Prongs, I think we'd better get back to the compartment, make sure Wormtail and Pads are alright, y'know that they're not dead or bleeding or anything."

Potter laughed. "That's a good point, Moony. We should really get going."

Just then, the door flew open, and Sirius Black entered the room with Peter Pettigrew in tow.

_Oh, dear_, thought Lily worriedly.

Potter laughed again, saying, "Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!" as Remus frowned and addressed Black.

"What's going on, Padfoot?"

"Well, Wormy here was carrying a sharp wooden object when we hit the bump in the tracks, and it got stabbed into his thigh."

Potter stopped laughing abruptly. "His eye? Did it fall out? Can he still see?"

"No, Prongs, his _thigh,_" corrected Black.

"Oh, I see. Well, actually, I don't see. There's nothing in his thigh."

Black lifted Pettigrew's robe, displaying a nasty, bloody wound in the boy's leg. The three others recoiled at the sight.

"Pads! Why'd you bring him here?"

"I thought you or Moony would know the spell to heal this wound up! I forgot it!"

"I think it's in one of our textbooks, Padfoot, but I can't remember the exact one..." frowned Remus. "Do you know, Prongs?"

"Well, Moony, _I_ don't remember it. Sorry, Wormtail, looks like you'll have to talk to the school nurse in a bit," said Potter.

Lily was getting so confused with all these nicknames. She'd lost track of who was who, and was starting to get a headache.

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs. It just continued to play over and over in her mind, and she couldn't think, couldn't focus on putting her things into her bag, couldn't do anything, if only they'd just shut up.

"STOP IT!" she screeched, and the four boys looked at her in surprise and horror.

"Stop it! I know the spell. Come here, Pettigrew," she demanded, but did not give him a chance to do so, striding towards him while pulling out her wand. She pointed it at his wound and muttered an incantation, and, suddenly, the wound was cleaned and sealed and Pettigrew was reenergized.

"Thank you," he breathed in relief. Lily nodded curtly and went back to packing her things.

"Sorry, Lily," Remus said, and James nodded. "I didn't realize we were bothering you."

"No, it's alright," she replied, calming down considerably. "It's just those nicknames were so confusing to me and you were all talking and I couldn't think at all. I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"Not at all," Remus smiled. "Well, if that's all, I guess we'll be going now-"

"Wait," she said suddenly. "What do those nicknames mean?"

The four boys suddenly started acting very suspicious. "Err..." began Potter, as Black whispered, "We'll just be leaving now, our stuff's in the compartment still. C'mon, Pete."

Pettigrew and Black exited the room, leaving it in an awkward silence.

"Well?" Lily prompted.

"Err...well, you see, Lily," said Potter, "they're just silly little names. Y'know, random things. They just sound nice. And we think that they...describe us, in a way."

Lily raised her eyebrows. There was something not right about this situation.

"Please, Lily," said Remus, and she turned to make eye contact. "Just accept that we can't tell you. James is telling the truth. Please just accept his explanation."

Slowly, grudgingly, Lily nodded. _For Remus,_ she thought. As soon as they saw her nod, both boys breathed sighs of relief. "But, if you're not going to explain the names, at least tell me who is who," she added.

"Of course," said Remus. "And, besides, James _did_ explain the names."

"Remus here is Moony, Peter is Wormtail, Sirius is Padfoot, and I am Prongs," rejoined Potter.

"Thank you," she said simply.

"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse us," said Potter, "business calls." And with that, he and Remus left the room.

Lily rolled her eyes and continued to pack up her things. As she did so, she thought about what they had said about the names. There was definitely more to it than they wanted to let on. She wondered what it was.

As she swung her bag over her shoulder, she vaguely comprehended that the train was slowing to a stop. She exited the compartment and saw that most students were already off the train. Still in a bit of a daze, she continued to try to figure out what the significance of the nicknames was, but could not come up with any plausible solutions.

Shaking her head, she walked towards one of the doors, thinking that she, the Head Girl, was somehow probably the last student on the train. As she exited the train and looked towards the castle, she decided that she would make it a point to find out, this year, exactly _what_ those nicknames meant.

* * *

And that's the end of Chapter One!

How did you like that? Was it good at all? Did you enjoy it?

Thank you for reading, and please leave a review!

Have a nice day.


	2. Chapter the Second: Classes and Things

_**A Discussion of Names**_

_Hey, people, this is Jameson with the first chapter written by me in all time. Print it out and save it, because it's going to be a collectible someday. I'm not going to say constructive criticism is appreciated, cuz it isn't and It'll probably make me cry. No, jk, Texans don't cry, we go to the houses of criticisors (or whatever) and beat them up._

_Without further ado, enjoy this gem of a chapter._

**Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter and all its characters. This does not belong to us. Please don't sue us, we have no money. Thank you. **

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"Bertram Aubrey."

A nervous young boy tripped his way up to the stage

"Hahaha! That's a funny looking one, isn't it?"

Peter, however, was not listening to Sirius, as he was far more interested in who the new Griffindors were going to be, his eyes focused directly on the first year sitting with the too large Sorting hat on.

"RAVENCLAW!" The Sorting Hat cried.

Peter sighed audibly, causing James to look over at him.

"Peter, you don't honestly expect every one of these midgets to be Gryffindors, do you? Remember, there are four different houses in Hogwarts." James teased.

Peter, however, somehow managed to miss the sarcasm thinly veiled under James's words.

"I know that, of course!" Peter exclaimed, "It's just that I'm so excited!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "James, catch him if he faints from all this gripping suspense."

Peter was always much more excited about the Sorting than all of the other boys. In fact, he was almost always more excited about _everything _than the other boys This, of course, lead to much teasing from James and Sirius. Peter didn't mind, though. Despite his dismal grades and, well, frankly his lameness, he was in the same group with some of the coolest and smartest kids in the school. This made Peter happier every day than many people were in their lives

"Oswald Beamish."

"Do you think this one might be a Gryffindor, Remus?" Peter wondered.

"Hmm, I doubt it, considering how tightly he's clutching that stool," Remus considered. "but I suppose it's possible."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Peter sighed again.

Sirius gave him an annoyed look "Merlin's pants, Peter, if you keep doing that even our personal Head Boy and Prefect won't stop me from stuffing your head in the gateau."

"Adriana Beliy."

Peter apologized halfheartedly and watched with lessened enthusiasm at the latest first year climbing the steps to the Sorting Hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Peter jumped up with a happy yell, accidentally knocking Sirius over in the process.

"Oh my g-g-od, Sirius, I'm s-s-so sorry!" Peter stammered out.

"It's quite all right, Peter, I'm sure you didn't mean it." Sirius responded amiably.

James and Remus, having just jumped up to stop Sirius from killing Peter, looked over at Sirius with disbelieving looks on their faces.

"What? I'm allowed to be mature too, you know." Sirius looked angrily at them.

However, Sirius's true intent was not seen until the end of the feast. Just like he said, a head boy and a prefect sitting right next to him were not enough to stop him from stuffing Peter's head in the dessert.

* * *

Climbing up to the dorms with a belly full of turkey, pudding, pumpkin juice, and many other feast foods was a challenge for most everyone. However, it was undoubtedly the biggest trial for James Potter. Aside from the fact that he had had a contest with Sirius to see who could eat the most, he had the added burden of climbing all the way up the Head Tower.

As soon as James realized how far up the door to his new bedroom was, he groaned and fell spread-eagled to the floor. Despite telling himself that it was a brief rest stop, he soon fell asleep. However, his nap was not to last, as he soon woke up to a foot kicking his side.

"Well, this is just lovely." Someone muttered angrily.

"Mffurble." James tried to see who it was that was interrupting his nap.

"This year is just going to be a bundle of joy for me, isn't it, Potter? _Rennervate._"

James was suddenly looking quite clearly at the roof of the tower. Straightening his glasses and standing up, James was faced with the horror of who had found him asleep at the base of the tower.

"Wait, Lily, I can explain!" James exclaimed.

"No, I don't want to hear it, Potter." Lily brushed him to the side and marched haughtily up the tower. "Do you realize what a disgrace it would be for me if people found out that the Gryffindor Head Boy falls asleep on the floor? They'll think we're bums!"

"Pleeeeaaaase, Lily," James moaned. "there was a feast, and I ate too much, and I couldn't quite make it to bed. I swear it won't happen again!"

Lily simply snorted and went in the door to the tower.

James was not happy with himself for looking like a fool in front of Lily.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid. You couldn't have possibly looked responsible in front of her, could you? You just haaaaad to look dumb." James did a facepalm as he struggled up the tower's staircase.

James fell asleep wishing that he had simply punched Sirius when he thought of an eating contest.

* * *

Remus, however, was being (or at least trying to be) the responsible one in the Gryffindor dorms.

"HEY! Second year! Stop levitating that!"

"Haha! Alright, Prefect!"

_*CRASH*_

"Oh Merlin..." Remus muttered. "_Reparo. _HEY! Fourth year! Stop hurting that poor second year! _Relashio_! HEY! Seven- oh. It's you, Padfoot. Please put that poor kid down."

"Oh fine Moony, you spoilsport." Sirius grumbled good naturedly.

"Thank you." Remus was surprised at being obeyed so easily. "Now I could really use some help getting all these students into their beds."

"Oh, um, yeah, sure, I just have to-" Sirus began.

"No, it's fine, go back to whatever you were doing." Remus sighed.

Sometimes Remus thought about giving up his responsibilities. Sometimes Remus thought about simply turning in his badge and not caring anymore about consequences. Then he remembered that he was the only voice of reason and if he gave up, there would be nothing to keep Sirius out of serious trouble. Remus remembered the only time he ever couldn't warn Sirius about the consequences. On that occasion, Sirius had nearly gotten a Slytherin student killed by leading him to Remus when he was a werewolf.

Remus shuddered.

He should probably get back to keeping the peace.

* * *

*YAWN*

Sirius hopped out of bed and kicked Peter.

"Wake up, Wormtail, it's time for school!" Sirius laughed.

"What're you so happy 'bout?" Grumbled Peter as he climbed bleary eyed out of his sheets.

Remus who had already been up for an hour was confused too.

"Yeah, I've never seen you so excited about getting up to a school day."

"Well I thought that would've been perfectly obvious, you two." Sirius explained patiently. "Prongs just spent a night with his one, true love! You know what that means, don't you?"

Remus groaned and left the room, but Peter was still had no idea what he was talking about.

"No, I don't, Sirius." Peter looked confused. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Hahaha! I shall spell it out for you. S-E-X!" Sirius's smile spread wide as Peter ran squealing from the room. Nothing could ruin today!

Meanwhile, in the Head Tower, James was prolonging his inevitable waking up to the realization of what had transpired the night before. He knew he would eventually have to see Lily, because even if he missed her in the morning, there was another Prefect's meeting later that day in which he would have to be present.

He _had_ to get back into her good books. And as he finally got up, the perfect idea for how to do it sprung into his head.

Sirius practically skipped down the Grand Staircase, knocking over several new students along the way. Remus was right there with him, but he knew there was no dealing with Sirius when he was in a mood like this. Peter, however, decided to take a different route as he was still a little uncomfortable around Sirius from the morning's ordeals.

They eventually met up with James at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Prongs! How lovely to see you! How was last night?" Sirius tried, and failed, to deliver a roguish wink.

"Oh god, don't remind me. It was an absolute disaster." James shook his head sheepishly and recounted the events of the last night.

Sirius had visibly deflated as James told his story and at the end he looked about as dejected as if_ he _had been James last night.

"Tough break, mate." Sirius shook his head sympathetically. "Ah, well, she can't say no to you forever!"

"Very true, Padfoot, especially with the plan I have worked out for the end of the day!" James's usual smile at least slightly returned to his face as he recalled his plan.

"Please don't tell me it has anything to do with love potions." Remus sighed. "You _do_ know those are banned here, correct? Also, the fact that you're now a Head Boy doubles the importance of you staying out of trouble."

"No, of course it doesn't, Moony!" James looked disgusted. "Are you suggesting that I, the incredibly handsome James Potter, need trick a girl into going out with me? I am ashamed!"

Remus had the decency to look slightly ashamed, but also the intelligence to press the matter.

"Okay, but seriously, is that your plan?"

"Well, it may have been my original one, but I came up with a better one and scrapped it." James conceded.

"Alright, alright, alright! Let's hear it!" Sirius was annoyed at being left out of the conversation for so long.

"Okay, so here it is..." James explained his plan.

Even Remus looked slightly impressed when he was finished explaining.

"Now, we should probably eat and then get to our first class, which iiiissss...nice! Transfiguration!"

* * *

Sirius did not have to try hard in Transfiguration unlike most students. Sure, he did the work, and sure, he studied, but during class all that he really did was mess with Peter and transfigure his quill.

"Black! Would you _please_ stop transfiguring Pettigrew's nose and get back to transfiguring the practice student in front of you?" Professor Mcgonagall snapped.

Sirius was supposed to be changing the straw dummy in front of him into a straw pig, but he found live subjects far more entertaining.

"Righto, Professor!" Sirius said brightly and transifigured the dummy on his first try. "Now can I get back to transfiguring Peter?"

"No, Mr. Black, of course not, Mr. Black. Perhaps your time would be better spent sorting rotten flobberworms with Professor Slughorn, Mr. Black?" Mcgonagall had somehow managed to say all of this with a single breath.

"No, ma'am!" Sirius exclaimed.

Sirius gave her a salute as she walked away and then rolled his eyes at James when he was sure she wasn't looking.

"So, Prongs, transfigure your dummy too?" Sirius knocked over James's quill on supposed accident and when he came back up, he sat with an air of innocence.

"Well of course! Hey, what's with the look, Padfoot? Oh you son of a- Professor, Padfoot transfigured my dummy back!" James raised his hand and gave Sirius an rude hand gesture.

"I swear it wasn't me, it was Peter and Remus!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Seeing as Pettigrew has still not managed to transfigure his own dummy, and Lupin is a prefect, I sincerely doubt that. I expect to see you in my office after class." Mcgonagall coldly turned and left to look over the rest of the classes work.

"You...are...such...a...PRAT!" Sirius turned directly towards a snickering Potter and proceeded to beat him with his straw pig.

Contrary to his original beliefs, the day was not shaping up to be a good one.

* * *

The next class was Potions, one of Sirius's worst subjects. He was not expecting it to be a good class, particularly in light of the day's events, but he was proven quite wrong.

"All right, class, today we will be trying to create the Elixir to Induce Euphoria!" cried Professor Slughorn jovially. "But beware! The slightest misstep in following these instructions could poison the drinker! So be careful!"

"My goodness." Remus breathed. "These are some serious ingredients we're working with. There's and wolfsbane, and doxy eggs, and wow!Acromantula venom!"

His words, however, were lost on James and Sirius, who had already started throwing some of the ingredients at each other. Then James simultaneously realized that he was now a Head Boy, and that, more importantly, Lily shared this class with them. He waved meekly at her disapproving glare and stopped.

"Right, then let's get down to work, shall we?" James's face was slightly red.

About half an hour later, James and Peter were still struggling, but Sirius and Remus had finally finished.

"Right, then. I elect you to be the first to try it, Sirius." Remus was not eager to be poisoned.

"Lovely!" Sirius beamed. "I could use a little cheering up today."

And he promptly gulped down half of the bottle.

"Woah."

"Did we do something wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Remus looked frantically around for the antidote.

Suddenly, people all around the classroom started acting strange. One person kissed his partner full on the lips. Another fell on the floor and started grasping at the air with silent laughter tears running down her face. Lily could be clearly heard from the other side of the room laughing so hard she could barely breathe and saying "It's like wizard drugs!"

Sirius felt he was about to have an experience along the same lines, so he acted quickly. He grabbeded Remus and shoved the rest of the potion in his mouth, because he knew Remus would want to keep his dignity which would be no fun at all.

James and Peter, having still not finished the potion, looked bewilderedly at their two best friends who had just started doing a strange dance in the middle of the classroom.

"Class! Please, class! Oh dear, I always dread this class every year" Slughorn shook his head sadly. "Potter! Pettigrew, please help me administer this antidote to the class."

At the end of the class, Sirius and Remus strode out of the class with triumphant, satisfied grins on their faces. James followed closely behind looking slightly sad he got to miss out on all the fun. Peter, in contrast, looked very relieved that he didn't have to go through with it.

"What was it like?" James wondered.

"It was like all the happiness in the world just got shoved down your throat." Remus reminisced happily. "It was like all my inhibitions dissappeared. It was like...oh Merlin! I'm a prefect! I can't believe I made such a fool out of myself!"

Sirius, who had been absently nodding with everything Remus said, suddenly found himself being strangled. This didn't seem to faze him, however, as he was still slightly under the influence of the Elixir.

"Uh oh, looks like the potion wore off on Remus. We should probably get him off Sirius." Peter suggested.

"Yeah, I s'pose so." James was still had not entirely forgiven Sirius for his beating with the straw pig.

Afterwards, however, Remus had to agree that it was a great feeling, being free of responsibilities.

* * *

Despite the original difficulties of the day, Sirius really enjoyed himself for the rest of it. They planted bouncing bulbs in Herbology, which was not very fun in itself, but was hilarious when they bounced out and smacked James in the face. They did palm readings in Divination, which was awesome, because Sirius could make up all sorts of stuff about Peter's upcoming death and have him believe it. And finally, in Defense Against the Dark Arts, they were allowed to jinx each other.

"_Stupefy_!" Sirius aimed his wand at James.

"_Protego_!" James's spell cracked and Sirius's spell went straight through.

After Sirius laughed himself silly, he awoke James.

"Lucky shot, Padfoot." James brushed himself off angrily. "Oh, and look, Evans is watching."

Lily was not looking at them because James had been jinxed, however. She had just heard James calling Sirius "Padfoot" again, and was still very curious about why they called each other those silly nicknames.

"Sorry, mate." Sirius said sincerely. "Hey, speaking of which, how are you going to pull off that plan of yours? You still have to go to the Prefect's Meeting tonight, right?"

James winked. "The wheels are already in motion, Padfoot. You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Remus, unlike Sirius, was not having a good day at all. After his unfortunate accident with the Potions class, he had been being very self conscious and everytime someone laughed, he assumed that it was because they had heard of what he had done, when really it was most of the time simply a joke someone else had told.

The only thing that kept him from feeling totally down was that he felt he had a chance to redeem himself in the Prefect's Meeting after school. Perhaps then he could show everyone that he was responsible.

Therefore, he walked cheerfully up to the fourth corridor where it was held when Defense Against the Dark Arts had finished with James.

"So, Prongs, any idea about what this meeting is supposed to be about?"

James did a double take. "I was supposed to come up with a topic? Oh Merlin, Lily's going to kill me!"

Remus was very alarmed at how his friend was acting. "Calm down, James, calm down! Don't worry! The person who called for the meeting obviously has the reason for it! I was just wondering if you had heard of anything. Why are you so nervous?"

James breathed a large sigh of relief. "Everything has to go perfect tonight if I want to get Lily to like me. Even with my brilliant plan, she has to think that I'm responsible."

"Well, here we are. Just go with whatever Lily says and don't get on her bad side, and you should be fine." Remus assured him.

James's heart was practically leaping out of his chest. He had done well at the first Prefect's Meeting, of course, but at that one there hadn't been so much at stake. He had also secretly practiced that meeting at night for months, wanting to make a good first impression as a Head Boy. This one had just been sprung up on him out of nowhere.

"Hi...Lily!" James spoke a little too loudly.

"Potter." Lily said, but when some of the younger Prefects looked at them curiously, she added: "How are you?"

"Quite well!" James smiled a little nervously, not noticing that the niceness was simply to cover up that she was mad at him.

Remus shook his head sadly. They just couldn't get along together, could they?

"Right." Lily called their attention. "Frank Longbottom wanted to bring to our attention that the toilets on the Third Floor are flooded..."

The meeting went on without a hitch for quite a while, until Lily had decided that James wasn't participating enough in the discussion.

"Anything to add to that, Potter?"

"What? Err..." James looked to Remus for help, he had not been paying attention.

"Actually, Lily, I have a question for you." Remus intercepted the offer smoothly. "How do we not know that a younger student didn't use a simple toilet blocking jinx?"

"That is an excellent question, Remus, and the answer is..." Lily went off on the magical traces of toilet blocking jinxes.

Remus and James both gave an imperceptible sigh of relief. James mouthed "I owe you one" to him from across the room. Remus rolled his eyes and pointed to Lily. James gave him a thumbs up and spent the rest of the meeting paying close attention to what she was saying.

* * *

Lily was not in a good mood after the meeting. James had barely said anything, and when he did it was either "Yeah." or "Absolutely right." Lily doubted he had even been paying attention to what she was saying. She stomped grumpily up to the Head Tower, where she saw that lights were on and loud sounds were coming from inside.

"I sincerely hope for Potter's sake this isn't some sort of party," she thought. She then realized she sounded old and grumpy, even in her head, so she decided to party now, and deal with Potter afterwards.

As she stepped inside, she saw that the tower was jam-packed with seventh, sixth, and fifth years.

She made her way towards James, who she had just seen in the corner and was greeted by all the kids along the way.

"Great party, Evans!"

"How's it going, Lily?"

"How'd you get the firewhiskey, Evans?"

Lily nearly turned around at that last one, but she realized she had bigger problems in James. Still, it was strange, she thought, that everyone thought it was her party.

Then she saw it. The largest poster of her she had ever seen.

It was brilliantly colored, particularly the red hair, and the poster-her was moving around with a fierce smile, as she stomped on the heads of the people she hated, people like Avery, and Mulciber, and other detestable Slytherins.

She had to admit, she looked beautiful on it.

As she stared in awe at the poster, James quietly came up next to her.

"Do you like it?" James sounded almost a little pleading.

"It's... nice." Lily, though touched, still had her pride and knew that she was supposed to be mad at him.

"Oh, well, I just wanted to show you that I'm, well you know, I'm sorry about how I've been not taking this whole thing seriously, and that I'm going to seriously start trying." Lily thought James did look quite regretful, and decided to forgive him.

"Very well, we can try to be friends, but you seriously have to promise me that you're going to make an effort at being a Head Boy, alright?"

"It's a deal!"

They shook hands and went back to join the party.

* * *

_FINALLY! Man, this writing stuff takes a while! Well, thanks for reading and posting GOOD reviews. See how I underlined and capitalized the word "good"? That's how you know I'm serious._

_Hey by the way, if you have the time, please post how many times you've read all the books added together, one of my friends think it's weird that I have about 50 times, but I know they're wrong._

_Thanks for reading!_


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